Strangers in the Woods
by Crimsonpawwz
Summary: A fallen friend, a chance meeting, and Hinata's world is forever changed. [complete!] Warning for unusual pairing [kisahina], language and violence.
1. Chaseing Fallen Leaves

note: I do not own naruto. please don't sue me, I'm poor. I also don't own a word program with spell check. Please bear with me, and if you find any errors: let me know.

Thanks!-cp

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The sky was the clearest it had been all week, not that this would have been difficult. The past three days had been as dark and leaden as a cloudy dawn all day, storm clouds accompanied by a miserable drizzle that seeped into the clothes and a chill that soaked into her bones.

To be honest, Hinata was annoyed at the turn in the weather. She had found solace in the sky's sharing of her misery, but now, well now it was cheerfully bright out and her aching heart was alone again.

It had been four long years since she had graduated, three of which she had not seen him. And then, just as he had reappeared and she had begun to work her courage to talk to him, truly talk to him, not just a stuttering "hi-howareyou-imfine-bye", but to invite him out for ramen, he was gone again after Sasuke. She worried about him then more than ever, knowing that her childhood love would rather die than leave his friend in the clutches of the snake-like Sannin.

Another year had passed, and she begged Tsunade to send more teams for the boy, surely one more would find him, but the Hokage just shook her head sadly. Every team that had been sent after Naruto had returned, if at all, with heavy casualties. Then, one day, the watch tower sounded the alarm. Strange ninjas coming up the road. Hinata bolted up to the highest perch she could find. The pair staggered into view, a dark haired boy, and a pale haired girl supporting each other as they trudged in exhaustion towards Konoha.

She rushed down to greet her former classmates at the gate, but it wasn't them she was concerned about, if they had made it this far they would be fine, it was the absence of their tow-headed, Naruto. She arrived just as the guards where making way for Sakura, even as they ripped Sasuke from her side. Sakura looked as if she had been crying for days, but her eyes were dry. Perhaps she simply had no more to give. Sakura looked up, jade eyes meeting silver, and then she looked away guiltily. Her face said it all.

"N...Naruto...?" Hinata stuttered, and Sakura shook her head "He's dead." she rasped, eyes threatening to tear up again, "He's dead, Hinata. I'm sorry...I'm so..." Hinata grabbed the kunoichi by her shoulders and shook her slightly "Did you see him fall?" her voice was high pitched, frantic, and she forgot her stutter "Did you?" Sakura shook her head, "No. No, no, no, no... We left him. He _made _us leave him. He would have killed us if we had stayed. We waited, searched...for days, but all we found was this." she lifted her hand and Hinata realized for the first time that she had been clutching something in it since her first appearance on the road. Sakura had to pry her own fingers from around the metal plate enclosed there. It was the broken two-thirds of a Konoha head protector, black and scorched along one side. Hinata turned the plate over. There on the back were scratched two names; the first was Iruka's, his last name melted off the end, the second, though also partially obscured, was undoubtedly Naruto's.

She was shaking. No. He couldn't be. He just couldn't. Not Naruto. She shoved the tears that threatened down into her throat. He couldn't be.

This is how she had ended up on the ill-marked road to Sound. Through a combination of fierce denial, steely determination, and a significant amount of stupidity, she had decided that Naruto was still alive and that no one, _no one,_ was going to stop her from bringing him back.


	2. a Ghost in the Sun

posted un-betta-ed! so if you see ant errors...let me know and I'll fix 'em. (thanks to huffpuff for loving this pairing too and making me want to write even more)

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He could only run so far, so fast; he knew they would come for him. Perhaps it would be soon, he thought, but it would not be unlike them to bide thier time either. One thing he knew for certain: when he breathed his last it would be at the hands of his former team-mate.

Boy, girl, these words didn't mean anything to him. They used to, but you spend enough time alone in the woods the lines begin to blur. Then it's just sex, just love. Boy and girl cease to be. And that boy never took rejection lightly. Not that he had rejected him personaly, nothing that complicated. But he had to go. He had to do this thing, and nothing was going to stop him, not even death at the hands of a lover.

Hinata panted as she ran. Her limit was somewhere three days, seven ambushes, a hundred miles away. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, she just made them move. Her lungs burned from exhertion and her scarred heart threatened to break itself in twain. But she could not, would not stop. A part of her recognized the maddness that had taken root in her, the desperation that wanted Naruto to be alive, but that part of her brain also knew, _knew_, that he was dead. Sakura was the second-best med-nin Konoha had to offer, next to Tsunade. And besides, she was his team-mate, if she could not find him how could Hinata? But the part of her brain that used logic was but a whisper among the thumping bass of feeling.

She knew she was being followed. She could hear the faint rustling in the trees behind her, see the occational shaddow out of the corner of her eyes. She tried to increase her speed, landing in a natural game trail and taking off, but they kept pace with her. She ran faster.

He was being followed. He knew this because he could smell them, he could feel the pulse of thier chakra beating against his skin. They thought he didn't know. He ran because for once he did not feel like a fight. He just wanted to be left alone, was that so much to ask? Apperantly. But it didn't matter, he could out-pace these ametures, easy. Just so long as he didn't get cornered.

He skidded to a halt as he turned around a bend in the narrow trail and she almost ran into him. She jumped back, obviously as shocked to see him as he was to see her, falling habitually into a fighting stance. She looked frazzeled, worn out. She was being hounded, like him. Her breath came in short gasps as she stared him down with those liquid mercury eyes of hers, unruly ebon-blue waterfall framing her blood flushed face.

His team-mate had told him all about her. Well, not her in specifics, but her family. Those silvery eyes, that special stance. Only one thing was missing: that pattented smirk. Well, he would forgive the omission this time, he thought as he narrowed his eyes at the girl. She was covered in blood. He tested the air, some of it -not much, but some- was hers. She was dangerous, and from that look in her eyes possibly insane as well.

He let one hand slide to the skull-shaped pomel of his sword, shooting her a skeptical glare, "Hyuuga?"


	3. Unexpected

"Hyuuga?" She nodded hesitantly.

The first thing she noticed about him wasn't that he was blue, nor was it the fact that his hand was readied on his sword, no, it was the sheer amout of space he seemed to displace. The amount of chakra that poured off of him was so enourmous that, while he was by no means a small person to begin with, he seemed much bigger than he was.

She tensed, taking the familiar bowing stance of the Hyuuga fighting style. She knew she never stood a chance, but she had to try. The veins surounding her eyes pulsed and swelled. They were surounded. His dark eyes flicked to the side, just once, and that was all the warning she had. He moved so fast that she never saw it, all she saw was the gout of blood coming for her face and the sound nin that had been in her blind spot fell from the trees behind her. His head followed shortly. The missing nin -as indicated by the slash through his mist head protector- looked back at her and raised one eyebrow at her as if to say 'you in?' She nodded.

Spurred by the death of thier comrade and superior numbers, the sound nins closed in from all sides. The blonde with the wolf's grin that flew at her from the left was dead before he landed, blood and pieces of lung burbling from his lips as he hit the ground. He bounced once and another blonde screamed in fury and flung himself at her. He died just as quickly. She twisted on her heel to shove a blade of chakra into the bulk of the nin that was trying to take her from behind. She felt his heart beat once and shove the majority of his blood out into his abdomen through the severed end of his aorta. He coughed and his face screwed into a look of pain and confusion, and then he collapsed.

There was a short break in the flow of enemies and she had the chance to glance in the direction of her unlikely ally. He was a dervish, a whirl wind of motion and fine red mist. When he paused he was facing in her direction. His face split into a wide, feral grin and one eye blinked closed at her before he was a blur of motion again.

Why was he avoiding fighting again? This was _fun._ Just enough of a challange to keep him on his toes and, was that the bite of a kunai just now? He spun and shredded the arm of the man who had been weilding it. The swell of chakra flowing into his body, through his arms, from Samehada was making him giddy. The heady taste of music users, topped off with a sprinkling of fear. Delicious. He paused to see how the Hyuuga was doing and saw her looking at him, surounded by as many bodies as he was. '_Good job, girl' _he thought, '_way to live up to your name_.' He flashed her a winning smile and winked. '_Why the hell not? She's pretty, and life's short_.'

Did he just...? She grunted and fell to her knees as four shuriken buried themselves in her lower back. The offending party fell onto her back, one thick arm looping around her neck and begining to squeeze. She choked and clawed at his arm, but she had been running on pure adrenaline. Now, wounded and captured, she could feel the her body failing, the tremor in her limbs building to convulsion, no longer able to even bear her own weight. The breath that escaped the mouth snarling next to her ear was surprisingly fresh and minty. '_Strange the things one notes as thier eyes go black'_, she thought, and then they did.


	4. Little Bird

posted un-beta'd yet again! you know the drill: naruto's not mine, and let me know if you find any errors. Thx!

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Something smelled good. She tried to roll over but she was tangled up. DAMN, her head hurt. What happened? She groaned. Where was she? She flailed around weakly, blocking her eyes from the blazing glare.

"Mornin', Hyuuga"

Hinata froze. She didn't recognize the deep, rough voice that hailed her. Slowly she came to her senses, mind still in a fog. She became aware of the stiffling warmth of the bedroll twised around her body, the campfire burning away in front of her, the tantalizing smell of something roasting, almost at that razor's edge between raw and burnt, almost perfect. She tried to sit up and found it more dificult than she thought it would have been. Her head spun breifly and she fell back into the dirt with a muffled 'thump.' Hinata squinted past the glare of the blaze.

He sat there turning the rabbit in an unconcerned manner, rocking on his heels every now and then. His eyes were focused on the fire between them but Hinata had no doubt that he was watching her intently. The black cloak he had been wearing was missing, as was the slashed headband, leaving his face bare. His features were rough, chiseled even, as if he had been carved from something. In fact, even the thick curve of his shoulder and arm emerging from the mesh-edged shirt seemed made of pale cerulean stone. If not for the fine mop of hair obscuring his eyes and the motion of his hands she might have suspected that someone had abondened this statue in the center of the woods in favor of something softer.

Her throat was sore, her lungs hurt, hell, her whole body hurt, and she was having trouble thinking due to the constant thumping of the space between her temples. He gave the rabbit a final twist then, with a satisfied nod, pulled it from over the fire and laid it steaming on a battered looking metal plate that she hadn't noticed until just then. He glanced in her direction as he pulled a small (small being a reletive term here, the blade was nearly as big as her forearm) blade from his pack and began disjointing the unfortunate leporid. "Can you sit up?" His voice was flat, matter of fact, and clearly stated that he already knew she couldn't. She glowered at him, sideways from her place in the dirt. He looked up at her, and laughed.

"No mistaking it now," He flashed her a wide smile of unusualy pointed teeth. He groaned as he stood up like it was an effort and walked over to her. He leaned over her, his face so close that she had to unfocus her eyes and refocus them to see him. "You're just like he said." he pulled her up. Her heart thundered. She was even less prepared to fight now than she had been when she first saw him. She struggled weakly and his chakra echoed down through those big hands. She could feel it beating over her, could taste it. Her eyes went dark for a split second, then she felt bark behind her head and the sharp pain of her shuriken wounds straining. "Hey." He patted her cheek roughly with the back of his hand, "Snap out of it, Hyuuga." Her eyes focused on something ovaline and grey. She squinted, and strained, and finaly recognized it as a small metal bowl. "Drink this." He held the bowl up to her face and waited for her to take it, but when her efforts proved in vain he sighed exasperatedly.

"Some genious you are," he rumbled as he pushed the metal lip against her mouth and tilted it up, "Done in by four shuriken and a moron with a choke hold." he managed to spill more of the warm, bitter draught down her front than in her mouth. He scoffed at his own efforts and tried again, inching closer to her and angling the bowl differently, "I mean," he started, pouring another mouthful of what she now identified as willow tea into her mouth, "I have it on pretty good authority that your family is one big clan of solid bad-ass. So what kind of Hyuuga are you, anyways?" Hinata swallowed another gulp of the herbal tea and tried to talk, coming to several false starts before she finaly croaked out, "A bad one." He laughed, a short surprised almost-bark of sound, "No kidding. Here." He tipped the rest of the bowl into her mouth then set it aside, "Hungry?" she shook her head no. She was sleepy. What was in that tea?

"Valerian root." he said as if reading her question in the confused wrinkles of her brow. "I found it in your pack. What?" he answered the incredulous expression in her eyes, "I'm more than just a pretty face, you know." He laughed at his own joke as he sat down again by the roast and popped a peice of cooling meat into his mouth at the end of the foot-long blade. "Just rest, Hyuuga." He said, looking away into the trees to his left, "We'll be in a decent town where you can recover properly by tomorrow. I think I can watch over a little bird like you until then, so just go to sleep ok?" When he stopped talking to look at her he realized she already had.


	5. Saltwater Musings

Posted un-betta'd, (again!)so if you see any errors let me know so I can fix them

also: reveiws make me feel loved and help me write when my muse abandons me...

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He was almost sorry to leave her there and he wasn't even sure why. It was better. Really. It was. Not only would she slow him down on the road, her recovery would be slower, more painful. He was doing this for her own good. And really, what kind of chance did he have anyway? The whole time it had been give give give. She'd barely spared him more than a skepticl glance... So why did he want to go back for her?A voice in the back of his head answered, and he was shocked. He was lonely.

He laughed at first. Loneley? Him? The great swordsman Kisame? The terror of theMists? Bah. But the more he thought about it, the more it felt like the truth. He had spent so many years with the Akatsuki, since he was almost 17, that he had become unaccostomed to the sound of silence. Although the Akatsuki was a group of eleite missing nins, they were a family in a warped sort of way. Kisame had grown used to the sound of them nearby, the gentle humm of the fan Tobi always ran in the next room, the occational explosion (inevitabley followed by shouting) from Deidara's room down the hall. And Itachi.

Kisame's chest got tight at that. He missed the sound of Itachi breathing in the bed next to his, or on the rare occation that the Uchiha allowed himself that weakness, in the same bed, next to him. He missed the taste of his skin, the smell of his hair. He missed those quirked, half-smiles that Itachi would sometimes get. A memory played un-bidden in his head. Itachi was laying in the hotel room bed, halfway to helpless after using his eyes once too often. Kisame was feeding him soup from a shallow blue bowl- the color of the bowl stood out vividly in his memory because of how nice it had looked next to the charchoal of Itachi's almost-blind eyes -and getting more on the younger nin than in his mouth. "Tsh." Kisame had scoffed, "What kind of Uchiha genious are you? Gettin' your ass beat like that..." Itachi had given Kisame one of his rare true smiles, "A bad one." Kisame had laughed at that, and Itachi's shoulders had shaken under the blankets in silent mirth.

His throat got tight thinking of what he had lost. It wasn't love. He did know that much, but it was friendship, an understanding. Trust. Something Kisame had had to do without in his days as a sword-for-hire in mist. It was nice to have someone to fall back on, to count on to always be there for you. A partner. A friend. A lover? Sometimes. But that was but the tiniest aspect of thier relationship to be indulged only when one or both of them felt that need so strongly that it was a nearly physical pain, and only then if there were no brothals or willing villiage girls nearby. Although, because of his appearance, Kisame usually had to resort to brothals or suffer in silence. It wasn't that he was unatractive, no, quite the oppisite, it was because he was different.

But Itachi had never seen him as anything other than just "Kisame." To Itachi, Kisame was a partner, a friend, a sometimes-lover, someone to back him up. And Kisame had left that. Another memory projected on the inside of his scull. It was a dark haired girl laying halfway to helpless against a tree after getting the life choked out of her by a beefy sound nin. Kisame was feeding her drugged tea out of a silver bowl- the same color as her eyes -and getting more down the front of her than in her mouth. "What kind of Hyuuga are you anyways?" A wry smile had twisted her lips as she choked out, "a bad one." They had laughed.

"Back already?" the orderly smiled as Kisame blinked in confusion and slowly accepted where he had ended up, almost unconciously. Sometime while he was thinking he had turned around and made his way back to the villiage, back to the hospital. "Uhm, yeah." Kisame started, "The girl..." The orderly smiled again in a friendly way and gave him directions to the Hyuuga's room. As he set up the tea pot on the in-room hot plate he thought about what he was doing sitting up here, risking his life and hers, making tea for a dark-haired girl that he only knew by last name and family reputation.

And, when he couldn't come up with a single reason why, he smiled.


	6. Bitter Draught

posted un-bettaed, so if you spot any errors, let me know.

As always, thank you for your support (and reveiws... ) "You make me like this pairing" is the utmost compliment to a crack writer, and I've received it twice. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading.

-cp

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She wasn't sure why she was surprised to see him there when she woke up after the deep doze she had fallen into earlier that day, but there he was, stripped down to his undershirt and pants, sleeping in the chair next to her bed. He snored softly as drool colected at the corner of his slightly agape mouth and, as she watched, dribbled down onto his bare shoulder. He snorted and twitched out of sleep, instantly awaked by that barest touch. He looked around blearily, tensed as if ready to strike, before his brain processed where he was and he realaxed.

The light was golden coming in through the lone, high-set window, and she couldn't tell for certain if it was dawn or dusk. He smiled at her, that big cheezy, flash of very white teeth in the yellow light, and she couldn't help but return the grin, albeit much deluited. His smile fadded and he looked guiltily to the side, shoulders slumping. "I..." he started, "I have to tell you something." She watched him attentivly, still not fully trusting her injured voice box. He breathed a deep sigh and ran one rough hand through his scraggly navy hair. "I'm a missing nin." He started, and she raised an eye brow at him, she coughed softly and rasped , "noooooo..." with as much sarcasm as she could muster. He shot her a half-hearted glare, "I'm also...was also part of the Akatsuki..." She rolled her eyes at him. He flushed slightly "Shut up!" she just smiled. He huffed and his lips twitched up breifly before he continued. "I'm being hunted. I ...left...the Akatsuki and they will inevitably bring me down. In fact," he continued, "just my being near you puts you in danger. I left you here, to heal you know? And it wouldn't be right for me to let you die just because I was..." He stopped before saying 'lonely.' She didn't need to know that much. "Because I was used to working with a partner." He amended. "I just wanted to say good-bye."

She tried to gather her voice as he picked up his big black cloak and assorted gear. As he neared the door she finaly managed to choke out "Wait" He paused and turned slowly around, a look of surprise on his face...wait? "You ev..." she swallowed the pain and gasped "ever think how I feel about this?" She paused to catch her breath, "Used to working in a group of at least three? to back me up..." her face scrunched as she swallowed again "could use ...the back-up..." she stuttered, her voice giving out, "if you're not doing anything"

Days passed into weeks, the wounds on her back faded from red to angry pink, just four more scars among tens to adorn her body. With nothing to do they wiled the time away learning about eachother. At first it was just his voice echoing in the room, but as hers healed they learned about eachother. She felt as if she knew him, inside and out, and simutaneously not at all. He laughed softly when he told her she was just as Itachi had said her family was, strong, proud, he had paused, beautiful. And that she was also very different. He smiled as he proved, or disproved, every rumor she had listed about him and his dark haired partner. He had a nice smile.

The last day of her stay he wasn't at her side when she woke up. She blinked and looked around, thinking her eyes must have deceived her, but her sizeable companion was no where to be seen. She shrugged and sat up. She winced as the new patches of flesh pulled tight. It would take some getting used to, and a good deal of stretching, before she was ready for anything any more severe than mild training. She worked the aches out of her disused joints before standing and wandering over to the tea pot on the counter in what she suposed passed for a kitchen-et. She closed her hand over the handle, with every intention of making some lavender and chai, and jerked it back again. Hot? She used the edge of her pajama top, seemingly provided by the hospital, to grasp the top and peak inside. The steam that wafted out was sweet and aromatic and she sighed. Not quite what she had had in mind, but it would do nicely.

As she poured herself a cup she concluded that she must have been woken by the sound of the door closing as Kisame had left. He must have made her the tea in antisipation of her imminent arrival into the realm of conciousness, but shortly after had left. She shrugged. Either he would be back or he wouldn't. She sat down on the rocking chair in the corner of the room, sipping tea, with the day's news in one hand, and tried to tell the bitter lump in her throat that neither it nor the tears that pricked her eyes were welcome.

Neither listened.


	7. Breathtaking

I'm not as pleased with this chapter, but if I pick it apart too much it'd be an entire waste.

Posted un-beta'd, so you know the drill, loves. read, love, reveiw. (repeat as neccessary :P ) -cp

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She was sitting in the chair when he quietly came back in, having disposed of the black cloak, broad-rimmed hat and other garb that marked him as a member of the hidden orginization. At the sound of the door latching her head jerked up. Her silvery eyes were red rimmed and she looked quickly away from him, swiping at her face. He felt that familiar tug that men everywhere get when confronted with a woman crying, that desire to comfort and amend, no matter that it wasn't thier fault. He pushed back the dark blue hood and shades masking his face and kneeled in front of her.

They stared at each other in tense silence for some time. Seconds passed, minutes, then he broke into that big, cheezy grin and she laughed.

He held out a brown paper-wrapped package to her as she wiped away the last tears from her cheeks. "Thought we'd need some new clothes," he said, still smiling, "Hope I got the size right, huh? Some of this was the lasts they had in stock."

She tore into the parcel and revealed three outfits, piece by piece. The first was fairly simple, a black, tunic-style shirt and a pair of durable multi-pocketed pants also black, "Lots of places to hide wepons" Kisame had noted and she noticed he was wearing a pair himself, all though in a lighter, olive color. The second was slightly more complex, a mesh undershirt followed by a dark blue top and another pair of multi-pocketed pants also in dark blue, and an all-most-black brown hooded jacket. The third almost made her heart stop. It was a kimono, not a formal cut, but it must have been expensive none the less. Dark ebon-blue bamboo trailed up the sides and sleeves over a milky silver background.

She looked at him in shock and he shrugged non-chalantly, "It was on sale." He looked at her out of the sides of his eyes, "So, you gonna try them on or what?" She nodded vigerously and stumbled over her feet in her haste to make it to the bathroom. The work clothes, as she had dubed the first set, fit nicely as did the second set, ninja clothes she noted, but the kimono...well...

_'Breathtaking_...' He thought, '_Simply breathtaking_.' He had always thought her pretty, but now, well now she shone. She had let her hair down and it flowed perfectly into the dark blue pattern on the back, almost to the point that it was dificult to tell where one ended and the other began. And the cloth that so perfectly echoed the silver in her eyes.

He knew it was made for her the instant he had seen it in the display window at that high class botique. No matter that it was among the most expensive of the gowns there, no mater that it was impractical, no matter that he had had to have it altered from a larger size to fit her exceptionaly curvy figure. It was worth every penny to see her in it, even once, because it was just for him. Oh, she might wear it for someone else some day and he'd never see her in it again, but today, this first time, she was wearing it for him. The urge to make this more than a buisness-partnership swelled to nearly over welming, but he quickly quelled it. He knew he could never expect anything more. Sure, she was attractive, but she was more than that. She was a kunoichi, a powerful ally with a blood line limit. She would complment his own talents, where he was intimidating she was demure, where he used brawn she would employ finess and control. She was the perfect partner, really. Well, except for Itachi.

"Well?" She prompted, giving the kimono an experimental twirl and flushing slightly as she flashed a long, pale, line of thigh. Kisame tore his gaze away from that tantilizing glimpse and flashed her a smile back. "It looks great. I thought it would be a good idea for us to both have something nice. Rough clothes are great for travel, but they'd be practically useless if a job called for, oh say, dancing." She paused in admiring the cloth to shoot him an incredulous stare. He laughed and ran a hand through his hair, cheeks bleeding to purple, "You'd be surprised the jobs we had to do, me and Itachi I mean. There was this one time," He laughed just thinking of it, "This one time we had to assasinate an old govorness. Not a fun job, but the pay was good and it served our purposes. Well the only chance there was to get to her was at a party she was going to be hosting that month. You should have seen Ita-chan all gussied up..." Kisame paused, Itachi would kill him in seventeen different ways if he ever found out the secret nic-name the rest of the Akatsuki ha called him by, "He looked every part the rich, single, bachlor. And that old woman was on him like a dog in heat, and everything else with boobs for that matter...and some without. The look on his face," he laughed, "Priceless."

"What about you?" The question shocked him and he just looked at her for a second. "Me?" he shrugged "I was dressed up like his man-servant. Everyone at the party had one, some even had a couple. Besides, I never was that great with the ladies, I'm, um, different."

"So?" she started "Every one is."He stared at her in shock, eyes wide and face burning. After a moment he blinked and shook it off. "Go change." He said turning his head away so she wouldn't catch his blush, "I've got one last thing for you." when he heard the bathroom door close he heaved a sigh and slid down into his chair. Every one is. Why does she have to do that?


	8. An End to Something

A very short chapter. It'll get better. Promise. -cp

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"Naruto..." Hinata whispered as she ran her fingers over the orange spiral on the side of the hat, just below the cat's ears on the top, like an earring. "It must be nearly halloween by now." She looked up at Kisame, "Isn't it?" He had brought the hat out for her when she had come out of the bathroom in her new ninja clothes along with a pair of mirrored glasses that were clear to the user but hid her eyes from casual observation. He nodded. The black and orange hat was probably part of a special Halloween display before everyone had bought the rest of the stuff and it had been moved to the men's department by accident. Kisame had bought it for her on a whim.

He knew who Naruto was. He'd spent a good deal of his time looking for the vessel of the nine-tails, in fact. But the boy had gone and got himself killed rescuing that un-appreciative Uchiha. He knew, he had been there. Kisame clasped a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She still beleived he was alive, but after what Kisame had seen, he wasn't so sure.

_"Kisame." That one word of warning and the big mist-nin had gathered up his weakened comrade and made for the trees. Naruto was in the middle of a heated battle with the sanin Orochimaru for Sasuke's freedom. Sasuke, meanwhile was just as exhausted as his brother and being drug away by a pink-haired little konoichi who looked like she'd snap under the weight of the larger konoha-nin, but didn't. Kisame had been enjoying the show for a bit while Itachi treated thier wounds, but at the first sign that Naruto's battle was getting out of control they had fleed._

_Despite Itachi's warnings Kisame was curious. He returned that night after Itachi had fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep. There was nothing where once acres of forest had been. Nothing but a chared, black, crater, slick in places where the sand in the ground had been turned into glass. By far the darkest spot was in the center, where the spiral began. There were two shapes there, impressions burned into the stone and glass. There were faint traces of ash and splintered shards of bone, but for the most part the two ninjas had seemed to have vaporized on the spot. It was a shame really._

"He's dead." Kisame had whispered, and Hinata had just smiled sadly and whispered back, "I know, but I have to try." tears threatened to fall from her eyes, "He'd do it for me." Kisame nodded. He could understand that, once.


	9. Blood and Tears and Green Tea

an extra long chapter to make up for last night's short post. i always love to hear what you think of it! -cp (edit: fixed the end, I like it better now.)

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_"He's dead." Kisame had whispered, and Hinata had just smiled sadly and whispered back, "I know, but I have to try." tears threatened to fall from her eyes, "He'd do it for me."_

That was two years ago. Hinata was sweaty and panting. It hurt. "Kisame..." she gasped. He pulled back, smiling that smile of his, "You told me not to go easy on you." She snarled, she wanted to wipe that crazy grin off his face but he was just so strong. "You bastard..."

She dodged his next blow and spun on her heel, bringing the flat of her hand around to connect with his side, lancing a thread of chakra into his muscles. He grunted and jumped away. She'd told him not to hold back, she'd never get any better that way. What she didn't tell him was that she was. She knew the worst he would do to her was scrape away a patch of flesh and steal her energy, she could kill him in a single blow if she connected in the right place...which was close to anywhere beween his collarbones and pelvis. So rather than use her full force attack, she sent a single, silk-fine thread slicing through muscle tissue to remind him he'd been hit. With his strength and naturaly quick healing he was back up to almost a hundred percent by morning. Luckily he was also particularly dence, otherwise he'd have figured out that she was holding out on him and insist that she hit him full force, and then things could go very poorly.

Ninja work was rare for them now. Mostly he got a job as temp help at what ever farm or factory was in the area they were staying while she would offer to help with gardening, medicine, or chores among the local house-wives. It was seldom that they got to show off thier true forte, and even rarer that they got to train in a real training field. So when the opportunity arose they rarely hesitated to jump at the chance.

He came at her from behind. He was fond of doing that ever since he had cracked the code of the byakugan's weakness, but she had him figured out too. She could find him wherever he was simply by the feel of his chakra. He put out a pulse so strong that weaker nins were often paralized by simply being near him, and he wasn't even aware of it. She feigned ignorance until he was nearly on her, then at the last second she darted to the side.

Spinning she latched onto his arm and used his own momentem to throw him to the ground. The look on his face as he flew by her was one of pure shock. Without wasting a second she was crouching over him, one knee on his chest, palm glowing faintly blue at his throat, Samehada kicked out of reach to the side. His eyes were still as wide as dinner plates. This was a first for them, he had always come out as the victor, and here she had him pinned. Helpless at her mercy. Well, not helpless she thought, as the chakra sheath around her hand flickered. She was panting, heart pounding against her chest, sweat and blood pouring into her eyes, while he was barely breathing hard.

She faltered slightly, hand touching his skin. The electricity that passed between them had nothing to do with her jutsu. She just stared at him for some minutes, still strugling for air, as he eyed her in growing confusion. "Uh, Hinata?" He stammered, "You can get off me now."

"OH!" She blinked and scrambled to stand up. "I'm really sorry!" Her face was burning and she turned away, pretending to straighten her clothes. "S'all right" She heard the cheerful reply from behind her and the scuffing sound as her partner stood up and brushed himself off. She touched her face, it still felt hot, but she didn't think the blush would be too obvious in the darkened ring. She turned to face him.

He was smiling. "Good game, Hi na ta." He purposely drew out the sylables of her name to see if he could get that blush to darken any. Hmm. Nothing. Maybe he should have added a 'chan' at the end. Oh well. Ever since he had figured out her shyness about guys it had been like a game to him to see just how red he could get her. The best he'd ever gotten was coral but he was hoping to aspire to cherry, or even one day...lobster. There was one sure fire way to make her blush, that was how he'd gotten coral, but he only used it once, and he'd never do it again. It was Naruto.

He had teased her innocently about talking in her sleep, about what she had said, then about Naruto. She had turned bright pink, and he had snickered internaly delighting in his new game, but then the tears had come. She never made a sound, she just excused herself and sat, facing away from him, with tears pouring down her face like water. She wasn't mad at him, because he'd seen what she was like when she was mad, she just missed the boy so much.

He had surprised her by putting a big hand on her shoulder and offering her a look of comfort. Everyone loses someone. She had looked at him in shock with wide, red eyes for a moment before gathering the loose folds of his hooded cloak in one hand. When she had burried her face in his chest he had just wrapped his arms around her and let her pour her tears into him. It was the life of a ninja, he'd cried more than once over someone who had died, but he had never told anyone. He had done his mourning in silence, and alone. It was never known that the great and brutal Hoshigake Kisame had cried in secret, but he had. Every ninja that ever was had.

"It's stupid, you know?" She'd said, face still hidden against him, "I hardly even knew him. He didn't know I existed. But I miss him. I miss him so much... I... I can't..." she had shuddered into silence then, shoulders shaking quietly as the tears came again.

She had fallen asleep in his arms that night, and never again since.

She hissed and jerked away. "Stoppit." Kisame made a small scoffing noise and put her chin in a vice like grip. "Stop being such a baby, Hinata-chan." He threw it in there, casual like, and was secretly pleased with the dark pink that edged into her cheeks. "There's a nasty scrape right here, and you don't want a scar on your face, do you?" She grummbled something "What was that?" She blushed harder and mumbled slightly louder, he feigned innocence "I'm sorry, Hinata...chaaaan. Come again?" "I SAID: It doesn't really matter any ways!" Bingo. Apple, a new record. "There!" he said as he pasted the flesh-colored patch over the freshly salved wound, "That wasn't so bad, huh?"

He was reluctant to take his hand away from her face. She was so soft, and yet so dangerous at the same time. He knew she had been holding back today, and every time they trained. He wasn't stupid. She always hurt him just enough to remind him that she had hit him, but never enough to truely wound. He treated each internal scar like a demerit. A pain that ment he wasn't fast enough. A scar inside him from her.

His face was dipping down towards hers before he was aware of what he was doing. He was pleasently surprised when his lips touched hers, the barest brush, like silk. He was shocked when she didn't pull away. She tasted like salt and blood, and green tea. She tasted like Itachi.


	10. Forever

sorry about the wait, here's something I hope will make up for it: cut and paste link. (cause I'm lazy like that) -cp

hyuuga-slut (dot) deviantart (dot) com

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"I'm sorry" he stuttered as he pulled away, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. It's just..." She stopped him with a hand over his mouth. "Shut up." She took her hand down slowly, a shy blush on her cheeks, "Kisame..." she looked down, and his heart fell. It was just like it always was. The only one who had ever seen past his skin was Itachi, and Itachi was the one who'd end him now that he'd left. That's how it was always done. "I'ts ok, Hinata." He whispered as he started to stand "I understand." But then he couldn't stand quite upright, something was holding him down.

His eyes wided as her arms tightened around his shoulders. "Stop being an idiot, Kisame." She grumbled, "I care for you, I thought you would know that by now." He let his arms close around her in return, "Hinata." here was something Itachi could never have given him, could never have given anyone but his little brother. Sympothy, caring, love. He loved her. He tightened his embrace, pulled her to him like he had never really felt her before, like he'd never get the chance to again. "Hinata." He loved her. It was new for him, frightening. In all his years of stealth and assassination, nothing terrified him as much as the idea of loving her, and nothing was ever more appealing.

"I might kill you someday," he whispered softly into her hair as he slowly sat back down on the floor in front of the chair where he had been treating her. He could feel her smile against his jaw. "I know." He smiled saddly and pulled out of the embrace, smoothing her hair with both hands. Her sivery eyes flicked back and forth between his. "Where do we go from here?" she whispered. He thought for a long moment, the bed? the alter? the grave? No. None of those places. None of those places and all of them.

"We keep looking for him, for your friend. Nothing has changed between us, Hinata. You are free to go where you want, do what you choose." He took a breath and savored the sight of her, hanging on his every word, he brushed the side of her face with his fingertips. "And I will be there to watch your back. As long as I can hold a sword, as long as I can stand, I'll protect you." He kissed her again softly, "Forever, or until you find someone better."

He stood up, pulling her with him and led her to the bed. "You had to work a lot harder than me tonight," he laughed as her eyes wided, "Training, love, training. You must be tired." She blushed and nodded. He smiled. "I've set up a perimiter around this room. You'll be safe to sleep." his eyes darted to the window, "I'll hit the local bars, see if anyone's looking for workers. Get some sleep, ok?" She nodded and stiffled a yawn. "I'll be back before you know it."

The door clicked closed behind him, and Hinata sighed. She was so shy, too shy. She'd liked him forever it seemed, but was too scared to say anything, and too wracked with guilt over Naruto. Naruto...could he still be alive? The chances seemed less and less the longer they searched. Even the boy she had known, as durable as he was...well, she had seen the crater. It didn't bode well. But Kisame, he was alive, tangible, breathing, and more than able to hold his own in battle. Kisame was a certainty, Naruto, though he had been her friend, was never more than a chance in the dark. She had never known if he had even liked her back, but her partner did. Was she betraying Naruto's memory by giving him up for lost? She didn't know any more. She just didn't know.

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"How long have you been here?" He had smelled him hours ago, miles away, on the way back to the rented room with Hinata. The dark haired man canted ebony eyes at Kisame, "Long enough." Kisame scoffed softly under his breath, though he knew the small sound would not be missed. "You've replaced me." Itachi flicked at imaginairy dust on his flawlessly polished nails, his eyes flased red as he gazed at his former partner again "She's pretty." Kissame pulled himself to his full hight and narrowed his eyes at Itachi "She's a Hyuuga" The stoic Uchiha faltered almost impercepibly, but years of contact had taught Kissame the signs. He knew the kunai in his side was a mercy. Itachi cared for him, in as much as Itachi could care for anything, but as the man he had once dared to call friend dissipated into the night again, all Kisame could feel for him was pity. And as he sunk to his knees, crimson pooling beneath him in steady waves, he didn't think of all the nights he had spent in Itachi's impassioned embrace, but of all the time he would miss with Hinata. "I'm sorry." he whispered to softly as he leaned heavily against the wall beside him, "I'm sorry."


	11. Lost and Found

_sorry for the wait, posted un beta'd. love, -cp_

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Harumi Kiki laughed and waved to her friends as she passed them. They would hang out later and discuss the most interesting gossip, the cutest boys, and all the little nuances that made up the life of a fifteen year old, but for now they were working. Kiki had been born on a farm near the southern border of the earth country, and for all she knew she was going to die on a farm there. She had it all planned out. She was going to marry a handsom man (maybe the apotocary's son, Mei. He liked her, right?) Then she'd set up a farm of her own where she was going to raise the best horses. Yeah, it was going to be nice. She hefted the pole up on her shoulder as she walked down to the river, a spring in her step, thinking about her future.

It was a long walk, but she was lost in her thoughts so it seemed to pass quickly. Before she knew it she was dangling her feet in the water, having cast her line and set aside the basket she had been carrying. She sighed and smiled. She loved fishing duty, and she got it so often. She grinned in egotistical delight. It was because she was the best at it, that's why. Most of the other girls would barely touch a raw fish, let alone a live one and the bait. She propped the pole up against a log and clipped a bell to the end before laying back in the soft moss around the river to watch the clouds.

She woke up to the sound of the bell ringing. Her first instinct was to jump up and grab the pole, hauling her catch back to the land, but something stopped her. The sky was gone, all she could see now was a mass of matted brown fur. She blinked, failing to comprehend in her sleep induced stupor the danger she was in. She reached up to touch the brown sky. It was warm and twiched under her fingers. It turned. The eyes were comparitivly small in refference to the head, wattery and brown, twin trails of clear fluid and yellowish goop running down from them to its slightly paler snout. It wobbled as it turned towards her and the urgency of her situation suddenly dawned on her. Kiki stood up slowly, taking in the sight of the sick bear, the overturned picnic basket, the maimed fishing pole. She started to back away. Her eyes darted the ground, she knew she'd brought one...Ah! There! She bent with her eyes on the bear and picked up the knife she had brought with her lunch and clasped it with both hands. She leveled it at the bear.

It snarled and took a step forward, the little flash of silver in a girl's hands ment nothing to it. She trembled as hope slowly dissolved in front of her. It snuffled as it took another wobbling step closer to her, little watery eyes turning in their sockets to flash white scelera. Kiki felt the tears begin to tricle down her cheeks. She was never going to see her family again. All her plans for the future? nothing. She was going to be nothing. What would they think? Would they miss her? Would Mei miss her? She collapsed to her knees as her back touched a tree. This was it.

There was a flash. The bear's roar of rage pitched into a shirill scream of agony and fear. She closed her eyes and waved the knife in front of her like a sword. The sound of the bear's heavy foot steps retreated at a lope. She opened her eyes slowly, not willing to trust her ears at first. But when she looked around the bear was gone. In fact, all she saw now was a relativly small shape raiding the remains of her picnic. She stood up and walked over to him, slightly sideways so she could bolt if she had to. "Who...Who are you?" He looked up at her with a rice ball halfway in his mouth, blinking big blue eyes. He was covered in mud from head to toe, skinny, and compleatly naked. He swallowed, barely seeming to chew at all, and smiled at her. His voice was pleasent and cheerful, and he sounded like he was about her age. "I have no idea!"

She named him Tenshi, because he had been her angel, and he never told her otherwise. She had taken him home, given him fresh clothes, and food, and the use of a bath. He in turn became his namesake to her in every way, and when thier first child was born she asked him what they should name him. He just smiled and said "Sasuke." She looked at him curiously. "I don't know," he smiled and shrugged, "I just like the name. Do you like it?" She smiled and nodded. "Yeah." She looked down on the child in her arms as he yawned sleepily and waved his chubby little arms, the boy had a shock of almost white-blond hair already curled on his forehead, "Yeah. I like it."

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_gee, I wonder who that could be. More to come soon. (Sorry again about the wait. > )_


	12. Dopleganger

"Hinata..." She moaned and turned over. Someone was calling her. "Hinata...wake up." She opened her eyes to see Kisame's face leaning on the edge of the bed, propped up on his hands. He smiled at her. "Good morning." She blinked, was it morning out? It still looked dark. And what was wrong with his eyes? She squinted and looked closer. Nothing. it was nothing, she was just sleepy still. She wiped a hand over her face and sat up, "Is something wrong?" He smiled at her "No. Nothing" He leaned closer, almost stradling her with his arms and kissed her.

She was startled at first, but kissed him back hesitently. He pulled away, blushing and laughing to himself. "Sorry, I just missed you, that's all." She blinked at him. He wasn't making any sense. "I was just asleep." He smiled again, lopsided. "I know, but..." he shrugged. He pulled himself up onto the bed and laid down next to her, one arm looped casualy around her waist. He sighed softly and snuggled closer to her, eyes drifting closed.

She stared at the sleeping mist nin. The hell? She sniffed the air, there was a distinct odor of alcohol. He'd been drinking? She knew he'd gone drinking before, even gone with once or twice, but...she'd never seen him drunk. Well, she shrugged, there was a first time for everything...still...

"Kisame." He stirred. "Kisame!" She shook him. "Nn!" He waved her off, wraping himself closer and pulling her tight to him. "Kisame...let me go." His eyes opened, what? "Wake up. You've drunk too much. Kisame?" Drunk too much? That was just stupid. He wasn't drunk. He didn't get drunk. Kisame didn't get drunk. He was Kisame. He was. His eyes flashed open. Where? Hinata...she was... His eyes widened and one hand pressed against his mouth. He scrambled out of the bed.

He steadied his breathing, leaning on the edge of the toilet. His sense of self came back, he shuddered. What was he doing here? He wanted this, but how could he think she'd be fooled for long? _'I needed you' _He thought _'I needed you and you were'nt there.' _The scar in Itachi's side had long since healed, but the wound on his soul had festered. He wanted to take what he could. He wanted to take this from Kisame. He would.

"Hinata..." she came to the door of the bathroom and peered inside at the sound of her name. "Are...are you ok?" He stood up, back to her still and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Fine." He ducked his head into the sink and took a long drink, swishing the last mouthful and spitting it into the sink to clear the acrid taste from his mouth. He turned, feeling more of his self coming back. He never asked for anything, he'd never had to. Whatever wasn't given freely he could take, and if he wanted to take this from Kisame he could.

He leaned one arm against the wall above her head, the other hand ocupied with the bottom edge of her tank top, effectivly pinning her. "Do you love me?"He was pleased with the flush that creeped over her face, the adorable stutter as she tried to tell him she didn't know yet. He pressed his lips against hers, running his free hand through her hair. "Why not?" he asked, knowing full well the effect this would have on her, "I love you..." The sake was still clouding the space behind his eyes, but as the minutes passed he became more and more himself. "Kisame don't..." She was starting to cry now. "But I love you." He whispered, smiking internaly, pressing himself closer to her, catching her hands in his, trapping them at her sides. He would have this.

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_let me know what you think of the story so far, and if you catch any errors (posted unbeta'd yet again...> ) look forward to hearing from you! -cp_


	13. the Remedy

_unbeta'd, you know the drill.-cp_

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"nn..." He groaned as he used the wall like a cane, to support his weight as he walked. He knew people were staring. It was late, but it wasn't late enough that the streets would be entierly empty. He hadn't lost that much blood, the wound being much more superficial than he had originally credited it for, but it was serious none the less. The shape of his hand copied in red on the door as he pressed against it, smearing down as he shoved it open. It was unlocked.

He saw himself pressed against the wall, a barrier of pale cerulian muscle trapping something there, before the doppleganger turned to face him and smirked. It was like looking into the mirror. The face was his own, but the smile was all Itachi.

"Ki...Kisame?"

He had her pinned to the wall, trembling, tears running down her face. He didn't feel the wound in his side any more, didn't feel the effects of blood loss, all that mattered was pounding that smug face into the ground. He flung himself at the transformed Itachi, arm drawn back for the first blow. Itachi disapeared in a cloud of opaque smoke and Kisame spun off-balance. His shoulder slammed into the wall next to Hinata and she jumped. He pushed off, leaving a smear of blood behind, and turned to stand in front of her.

Itachi was standing there, shirtless, holding his cloak in one hand. The smug grin on his face melted around the edges until all that remained was the broken face of someone who had lost everything. He could barely see, his vision was starting to blur around the edges and he wobbled, but stood fast. He glared at Itachi. The Uchiha's mouth twisted ever so slightly into that rare smile Kisame remembered, "Treasure her." he whispered to Kisame as he turned, "Don't ever leave her, not ever, not like me." He stopped with one hand on the door knob, "I'll kill you if you do." Then the door clicked and he was gone.

Kisame's knees buckled and he collapsed. She was over him in an instant. His head rolled from side to side, eyes screwed shut, mumbling "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over. She tapped him on the foreheaad "Shut up." He did, opening his eyes, though it was hard to see her through the haze. "Hinata?" "Shut. UP." She sanapped as she pulled the shirt away from his side. The wound was a long gash, deep, but it didn't penetrate the abdominal wall. She sighed in releif. She was no good as a medic, but she was an expert when it came to herbal remodies.

She dug through her bag until she came to a red-glazed, palm sized, earthware vat. She grabbed some towels from the bathroom, a roll of gauze, and the pot and helped Kisame onto the bed. He sat on the edge and they struggled with his shirt. He made a mental note not to let his vanity get the better of him and buy a shirt that wasn't so skin-tight next time. He hissed as she poked at the still seeping wound and she grinned up at him. "Stop being such a baby, Kisame-_chan_." He glared at her, but she wasn't paying him any attention, it was all focused on his wound. She dabbed at it with a clean towel and 'hmmed'. "Here" she pressed the towel to his side "Hold this." He did. She reached for the red pot, unscrewing the top. "What's that?" He asked, peering over at her. "Salve." she answered crypticly and opened it. It had a pungent smell, spicy and sweet at the same time, and she pulled a healthy sized gloop of it out into her hand. "Ok, move the towel." The gel was cool and soothing, he sighed. "What's in it?" he asked as he leaned back and let her treat him. "Primairily dragon's blood, willow, and chamomile." she pulled out another dalop of semi-clear yellowish goo, "But there's a plethera of other ingreedients too...marigold, for one." That was surprising, "Marigold?" "mm." She indicated that he should sit up and started padding the cut with gauze. "It's pretty unknown, but marigold actualy has some antibiotic properties, and besides..." she flushed slightly "It smells nice." He smiled. So she could be girly after all. She finished up with a layer of semi-sticky wrap around his middle to hold the gauze in place.

"There." She smiled and studdied her handi-work. Not too bad, really. He caught her face in one hand and, much to his dismay, she flinched away. He looked at her for a moment, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. He felt fear first, fear that he had moved too quick, that he had scared her off, but when she reached up to grasp at the hood that wasn't there, he finaly realized what was really going on. She was scared, but it had not been because of him. What he felt then could be described as nothing short of seething rage. Hinata, his partner, his freind, that he had worked with for going on almost three years, who could stand confident in the face of a legion of enemy ninja, had been terrified to death at the thought of her impending rape.

He couldn't help it. his hands moved on their own, gathering her to him, and she curled against him, shaking in his arms. He wanted to kill Itachi. Any sense of comradorie he had ever had for the Uchiha heir had disolved the second he had walked through that door. He didn't know what to do, she was so frail suddenly, so he just held her all the tighter and slowly, slowly, her arms snaked around his waist and her trembling slowed then finaly stopped.

She was so warm, and he was worn out. His eyes began to drift close and his breathing steadied. "Kisame?" Her voice was quiet, timid, but it was enough to call him back to the space between sleep and waking, "Mmm?" "Thank-you..." "Mmm..." it seemed he dreamed that he fell asleep with her in his arms.

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_and a little bit of a bonus story-let. hope you like!-cp (subliminal messaging says you should reveiw now...and I'll try to keep up the frequent posts XP)_

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Leader was pissed. Really pissed. He didn't show it of course, to show emotion was weakness. "I sent you to bring me his head. What happened?" Itachi glared up at the ledge where Leader kept himself in shadow, the faint light glinting off of malignant eyes. "There were ... complications." Leader let one brow twitch in fury and disgust. God-damned arogant Uchiha prick. "What happened?" Itachi's reply was another of his pattented 'I'm way too cool for you, so why the hell are you talking to me?' stares. A low growl slipped out of Leader's throat. He was going to kill that boy some day. "I want you to kill the mist shinobi. Now, is that...so...HARD?" He was yelling. He hadn't yelled in years, he hadn't had to, but this insolent child of a nin was grinding on his last nerve. "Fuck you." He couldn't beleive his ears. "What...was ...that?" Itachi's face was split in a malevolent grin. "Fuck you, and oh, yeah, I quit." He spun on his heel and stode off in a flury of back and red. Leader was stunned. "You...you can't." He sputtered, Itachi just threw one hand, a single finger erect, up in the air as a responce. "YOU CAN'T QUIT!" The Uchiha never turned.

Leader sat down hard in the chair he had placed on the ledge so he could look reagal and nonchalant. Right now he just felt tierd and anoyed. Damnit, he needed a new job.


	14. To Remember Me By

_tried to post last night, but I was just so sleepy! Forgive me? - cp_

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She woke up before him, before the sun had compleatly broke the horizon. He was wrapped around her, arms locked behind her back, chin tucked over her head. She fit perfectly there. Even though she had filled out to be bigger than most of the girls in her class he dwarfed her compleatly. She brushed one hand over his cheek and leaned up to kiss him. It couldn't hurt, right? He was asleep. He caught her face between his hands and she started, jerking away with a highpitched exclusivly female sound, blushing furiously.

He leaned back with his hands behind his head and a cat's-in-the-cream grin plastered on his face. " 'Morning, Hinata." She blushed deeper. "Shut up!" He chuckled softly and leaned towards her, cupping her chin with one hand. "Ok.." He pressed his lips against her, effecticly shutting himself -and her- up. Her heart jumped as he shifted, laying her on her back as he arched over her, his mouth never leaving hers. His tounge flicked against her lips and she opened her mouth. She'd never done this before, she was terrified and excited at once.

He was increadibly careful with her, one arm leaned on the bed above her head to suport the majority of his weight while the other begged permission to touch her with light, initialy innocent carresses. His knees bore the rest of his weight, one between her legs, the other on the outside. His heart skipped a beat when she opened her mouth for him at the slightest touch. She was warm and soft and he was having trouble beleiving what his mind was telling him: that this was a bad idea. There was a pain in his side, a dull throb with the occational twinge of more, but he ignored it. It didn't matter. His free hand was tracing circles around her navel when her hands reached up to touch him, trembling at first, then more confident as they explored further. Her fingers traced the lines of him, lingering over throat, collar bones, stomach and chest. He let his hand lift the edge of her shirt, then pause. He was waiting for permision, a confirmation or denial. Her tounge was in his mouth then, running gently over the ridges on the roof of his mouth and he lost all ability to reason.

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Her hands were stiff and it made it hard to repack his wound. He'd insisted on treating her before he let her get anywhere near his side. She had almost giggled at the look of concentration on his face as he wrapped the gauze around her abraded hands before moving to the gash on her shoulder. "I told you it was a bad idea." He said, noticing her hesitence in her work. She just shrugged and continued to work. She pulled the sopping gauze away from his wound, cleaning, salving and repacking it with fresh cloth. The rough wound on her hands had been her fault entierly, but still. How was she supposed to know that the darker marine along his spine, down his shoulders and thighs was sharp-scaled? Though of course once he'd caught the scent of blood while mid rut, well, that was the reason for her shoulder wound. She wasn't complaining, of course, it had felt great at the time, but it was going to hurt tomorrow. And besides, she blushed and smiled slightly, fingers tracing the edge of the lopsided bandage along her collarbone, the scar would be something to remember him by whenever they were apart.

He hugged her from behind as she was putting away the first aid supplies, kissing down the back of her neck. She shivvered and blushed deeper. "A...again?" She stuttered. He snuggled closer to her turning his head sideways on top of hers, "Hmmm. No. I'm good." He paused, "You?" She nodded. He smiled to himself, "That's good. Hey, Hinata"

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking that we need to find jobs soon." She turned to face him while still containded in the ring of his arms, sher raised her eyebrows "Already? You're still injured" He smiled and pressed his lips to hers, he couldn't seem to get enough. It was always like that for him, expecialy after sex, even more so if blood had been involved. It was like an addiction. He was addicted to her. "Yeah?" he retorted, kissing the edge of her bandaging, where her shoulder and neck met, "So are you." She flushed an increadible shade of red and squirmed in his embrace "That's different!"

"Is it?" he chuckled nipping along her neck without so much as a scratch. "Yes!" she blushed, "It is!" He had no intention of taking her again, not yet anyways, that night would be a different story, as would that afternoon, maybe, and perhaps an hour from now, and then twice between that and tonight. He laughed as she struggled against him in indignant rage, and he stopped teasing her. When her escape efforts proved futile she stilled, arms crossed, face smushed into a scowl. He smiled and ducked down, placing a chate kiss on her forehead. "Hey, Hinata." He whispered as he looked into her eyes. "Yeah?" she grumped. "Love you." He whispered softly, for her ears only. No amount of scowling could hide the blush that crept into her cheeks, nor the slight smile that tugged her lips. She sighed and let her mask slip, turning gentle white eyes up to him, she smiled. "You too."

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_whew. I so had to edit this to make it safe. Otherwise it would be, like, twice this long. Tell me what you think, cause the next chapter might get hectic. Kisame and Hinata go looking for jobs...on a farm...in earth country..._


	15. In the Bag

Tap. Tap tap. The fish darted in thier glass prison. "Hey. Cut that out, it's not nice." She smiled at the whimisical expression on Kisame's face as he looked up and blushed, like a naughty child caught red handed.

They had reached earth country with no incident and arrived in the middle of a celebration. It was the 50th aniversery of the local lord's marriage. Everywhere there were stands of aromatic foods, small fire-crackers and toys, colorful masks and beautiful dresses. At Kisame's insistance Hinata had worn the kimono he had bought for her, her now waist length hair blending perfectly with the dark bamboo silouets streaching up her back. Kisame's eyes narrowed as he stood and shot her a wicked grin. He turned to the shop keep. "Kisame..." she started, warning in her voice, but the mist nin ignored her. "I'll take these two." He said, indicating two exceptionaly beautiful fish. "A good choice sir." The attendent quipped, a large profetional grin platered on his face. The tightness around his eyes betrayed him though, fear.

He scooped the two fish into a bag and handed them to Kisame, a slight tremmor in his fingers. Kisame ignored it. He turned to Hinata, grinning like an idiot and holding the bag at eye level for inspection. She sighed, "What are we going to do with those?" She asked, smiling hopelessly. "Dinner?" he joked. Hinata sighed and poked at the bag. The fish stared back at her dispationately, little mouthes opening and closing. The larger of the two was silver with two fluffy grey pom-poms growing just above its mouth, the second was white and black with protruding silver eyes.

"Uh!" A tiny voice squeeked and she looked down. A boy stood there, no older than two perhaps, large blue eyes focused intently on the bag, one tiny hand grasping up while the other curled in the cloth of Kisame's robe. Kisame laughed and bent down bringing the bag to the boy's level. The child squealed in glee and pressed his face to the bag, giggling as the fish thrashed in a futile attempt to escape. A lock of flaxen blond hair peeked out from under the colorful mask he had pushed up on his head. Hinata smiled at Kisame; he was telling the boy to be nice to the fish...wasn't he the one tapping on the glass a second ago?

"Sasuke?" the voice of a paniced mother cut through the crowd. "Sasuke!"

A beautiful young woman with soft brown hair and large blue eyes pushed through the crowd. "Sasuke?" she called looking this way and that, obviously distressed. The boy at their feet perked up. "Mah-mah?" he stuttered in his high pitched voice, starting to cry. It was as if he had only just noticed she had been missing. "Sasuke?" the note of desperation keening at the sound of her child's voice, "Mah-mah!" Sasuke bawled Clinging ever tighter to Kisame's leg. "Uh...um...miss?" Hinata flagged down the panicky mother. It was a tearful reunion, punctuated by many "Don't you ever do that again!"s and "Thank you so much for finding him!"s

"Sasuke? Ki-ki?" A man wearing a red mask with bulging eyes and white tusks pushed through the crowd behind her "Ki-ki, did you find him?" The weeping mother nodded furiously, unable to respond. "Hey, kiddo!" The father scolded, "Don't do that to me! You scared your mother and me to death, I mean it." Hinata stilled. That voice, that pattern of speaking...but no, it couldn't be. He looked up and bright blue eyes suinted through the slit in the mask, she was sure he was smiling. "Thanks a lot! I owe you big, really!" Kisame stood up, "It was nothing!" He flashed a big grin, "Hey," he said, "You can have these, ok kid? We don't really have much time for them anyway." He presented the little boy with the bag of fish (who were extreamly unhappy about this turn of events) and the boy nodded, sniffling. "Fiith." he muttered, showing the bag to his mom. She laughed shakily, "Yeah. Fish." She bowed slightly to them, "Thank you again, so much." she smiled one last time and turned to go. As the family disapeared through the crowd Hinata was un-surprised to see that father and son both sported matching crowns of unruly blonde locks.

"You're not upset are you?" Kisame questioned, noticing the tightness in Hinata's expression, "About the fish? I mean, it's like you said, we won't have much time for them and that kid's gonna be real happy with them...Hinata?" She was starting to shake all over. "Kisame." it was barely a whisper, because that was all she could muster, "Kisame? I think...I think that was Naruto." His eyes widened in shock and he turned, with her, to watch the milling crowd as the festival wore on into the night.

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_so so sorry about the lapse! I haven't been in a writing mode, and I've been a bit ill, but that's really no excuse. I'll make it up with art or something. Promise! _

_-cp_


	16. Winter

"_Years go by and I'm here still waiting ... _

_When you gonna make up your mind? _

_When you gonna love you as much as I do?_

_When you gonna make up your mind, _

_Cause things are gonna change so fast... _

_I tell you that I'll always want you near, _

_You say that things change my dear. _

_Never change_." -Tori Amos, "Winter"

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He didn't know what to do, how to reach her. In a moment, in five words, his world had been torn asunder. _"I think that was Naruto_" It had been years, he had seen the crater there was no way, no way at all. Besides, the boy would know who he was, all Konoha nins did, right? He was suposed to be some big bad criminal, and yeah, ok, maybe he was, but he wasn't all that bad a guy. And she was his now, damnit, how dare that blonde infidel barge in and ruin it for him? He loved her. For the first time in what felt like forever he loved someone, and she loved him back, didn't she? He wasn't so sure any more. Ever since the festival she'd been distant, the kiss he had stolen was practiced, dispassionate. She sat at the edge of the bed and looked out the window. He had to hand it to her, she hadn't cried, hadn't begged him for forgiveness, and she hadn't run away, but she was going to. She was going to, and it hurt worse than any wound he had ever had.

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She didn't know what to do. It was him, she was certain of it, but now her heart belonged to Kisame. She wanted him, she loved him, didn't she? What was she suposed to think when she saw this boy again, this boy that she had spent her entire youth lusting for, that she had gone missing nin for? She had left her family, her home, everything familiar all for Naruto and he hadn't even recognized her when he had seen her. That was it. It couldn't be him, it couldn't. Naruto was many things, but he had been her friend, he would have said hello to her at least, wouldn't he? She knew what she was doing to Kisame, sitting there, thinking as she was. She was breaking him, but she couldn't stop. She needed to know what was in her heart, she need to see Naruto. "I'm going." She said, as she stood up. He just nodded and looked away as she walked past him.

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Something felt uneasy with Tenshi, it was something about that girl. She seemed familiar, somehow, but he was sure he had never seen her before. Unless...unless she was someone he had known before. Before Sasuke was born, before he was Tenshi, before he met Kiki. His memory was black, and if he thought about it too much his head started to hurt and he would sit there crying for no reason he could remember. Sometimes he would wake up late at night sweating and panting with barely remembered dreams of fire and fierce red eyes flashing behind his lids. Once when it had happened he had looked in the mirror and seen those eyes looking back at him. He hated mirrors now.

He sat on the edge of the bed. Kiki was in the other room reading to Sasuke. He let his head fall into his hands. He didn't know what to do. He loved her. He loved her so much, and there was Sasuke to think of. He couldn't go, he couldn't. But he had to know. He was curious about that girl, and maybe it was nothing, but he had to know.

Kiki plopped onto the bed next to him. "What's wrong?" She asked, running one hand through his hair and kissing him on the cheek. "Hmm?" He picked his head up and looked at her with blank blue eyes. "Oh, nothing. Nothing." He kissed her back and lifted up the covers, sliding underneath them and snuggling next to his wife. He loved her and nothing was ever going to change that.

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When he woke up in the morning she still hadn't returned. It was bright out, dawn had come and gone. The inn bed, small though it was, seemed terribly cold and empty without her cuddled next to him. He had always known this day would come, somehow, but he had never expected it to be so soon. He had hoped that he would have died defending her before she'd leave him, but he always knew she'd leave some day. There was a place in him, a place that he went whenever he was killing to survive, that place that everyone has, a white static abyss that leaves no room for emotion, no room for pain. Kisame went there then, his eyes going flat and black as he packed his things together. He packed her things as well in an orderly and dispassionate way, leaving them in a neat pile on the small bed as he left.

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He had to know. He had hoped that when he woke in the morning the feeling would have passed, but it hadn't. Images of her still flashed behind his eyes of a girl with ebon-blue hair. The image of her in the festival kimono standing next to the blue-skinned man was easily explainable, but the dreams he'd had of her, they felt so real. He saw her standing in the sun, her hair so much shorter, smiling, so young. She had looked so cute then, he had thought, and felt like he should have told her. He never had, not even in the dream. It felt like her name was on the tip of his tounge, but he couldn't say it. It was as if he watched her face behind his lids for just a few more minutes he would remember, but he had woken. He had to see her again.

"Um, Kiki?" He started, speaking close to her ear. She moaned and rolled over, "Kiki, I was thinking...we should thank that girl some how. She found Sasuke after all...um, what do you think?" Her eyes opened sleepily and she smiled up at him. "Hm? Yeah. That's a good idea. What do you want to do?" Tenshi felt so guilty all of a sudden. He was lying, lying to Kiki. He didn't want to thank the girl, he wanted to know who she was. He wanted to know if he had ever loved her, or she him. He wanted to know that this, this thing with Kiki was real and not some illusion. He wanted to be wrong, but somehow he didn't think he was.

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She had spent a good portion of the night and the next day wandering. Everyone seemed to know him, but everyone had a different way of getting there. Finaly towards sun-set she had seen him leading a grey mare through the town. He paused to ask a shopkeep after directions to the nearest inn. He nodded and thanked the man, grinning that wide grin of his, and moved along his way. Hinata's heart jumped. That smile. In so many ways he hadn't changed a bit, but the soul behind those blue eyes didn't recognize her last night. What had happened to him in the years that he had been 'dead'?

She intercepted him on the way to the inn. He had just stood there looking at her, his brows furrowed in concentration as his eyes darted back and forth between hers. She had seen that look on his face before, when someone had said something he didn't entierly understand. And now here he was, making it again, in reguards to her. "Naruto-kun?" She made the name a question, but she already knew the answer, even if he didn't.

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His eyes flashed wide open when she spoke his name. His name. He had a name. Her stutter was gone, but she was the same as she had always been. The trail was empty except for him and her when he dashed forward to pull her into his crushing embrace. The horse wandered to the side of the path and began to graze, her owner having dropped her reigns in his rush towards his childhood friend. "Hinata, Hinata..." He said it over and over. He could just barely begin to remember his old life, but her face stood out in his mind. Smiling, blushing, always there for him even when no one else was. Was this what he had been missing all these years? He pulled back to look into her eyes, those same liquid-mercury eyes he had always known, loved.

And he kissed her.

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Never in her life did she think her first kiss with Naruto would be like this, and never had she thought she would pull away from him. But she did. She planted her palms in his chest and pulled gently away. She looked in his eyes. "It can't be like this anymore, Naruto. You have a new life now and...and so do I. I can't tell you how long I wanted you when I was young, how badly, I...I loved you." how long had she waited to say that years ago? It broke her a little bit to know that he had felt the same and she had never had the courage to say anything. But what she said was true. She had grown up, and so had he, and they had the both of them grown apart. "We aren't the same people we were then, Naruto. Think about Sasuke, and your wife. What will they think?" He nodded solemnly and pulled away.

She was right, of course she was right. He placed a second, chaste kiss on her cheek. "Thank you," he whispered, "More than you can ever know." He walked away then, and it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He never looked back as he picked up the horse's reigns and walked home, never looked back because he didn't want her to see him cry. Nothing would ever be the same now.

--------------------------------

It took her two days to track him down after she had discovered that he had gone. Hoshigake Kisame was a hard man to find. But nothing had ever been so sweet as when she threw herself into his arms. He held her tightly. He was shocked, she had spent years looking for this boy, the whole time he had been with her she had been trying to find him, and in the end, when she did find him, it wasn't Naruto she choose, it was him. She loved him. He held her tight to him and let that white static evaporate, let himself feel again. He laughed, and cried, and spun her around with him.

And he kissed her.

-End-

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_To those of you who have been along with me for this whole ride, I can not thank you enough. I can drop some names, but to be honest I'm terrified of forgeting someone and besides, you know who you are. Thank you again, so much, more than I can say. Without you this tale may have sat, festering, within my brain and never been compleated. I owe you credit for inspiring me and modivating me to continue. This is only the second or third story I've written ever to reach compleation, and I owe that to all of you. I hope you will stick with me, perhaps, if or when I begin another epic and help me finish that as well._

_Thank you -cp_


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